With the weather getting bad, there are things you can do so your driving isn’t. Dave Goddard from the Motorsport Club of Ottawa has been teaching winter driving for more than a decade. He offered the Citizen a crash course on how to keep safe.

1. Ready your car

The first thing is clearing the windows, roof, headlights and taillights. Driving with only a small square of windshield cleared off is a disaster waiting to happen, Goddard said. A good scraper and brush are your friends, he said.

For winter tires, Goddard said the car should have four, not any other number. Two can be dangerous because they can have different grips, he said, and using all-season tires isn’t as effective. He calls them “no-season” tires, because they compromise and don’t do well in any season.

2. Ready yourself

Adjust the seat so your knee is slightly bent with your foot under the brake pedal, and when your wrist is on the steering wheel, your shoulder blade is touching the seat. Having the seat in this position gives you leverage should you need to make a sudden, large turn. Having straight arms won’t do. Next, prepare yourself mentally for stopping conditions. “Keep your vision up,” Goddard said, by looking past the licence plate in front of you, or risk coming to an abrupt stop.

3. Know your brakes

Most cars today use antilock brakes. The anti-lock braking system sends rapid pulses to the brakes and lets the wheel steer in between. Non-ABS brakes don’t let the car steer when the brakes are down, so Goddard said the best technique if you need to steer is pumping the brakes. By taking your foot on and off the brakes, you’re allowing the car to steer in between. Otherwise the brakes could lock and the car could skid, which happens more often driving in winter. The trade-off with using ABS brakes is they take longer to stop. Goddard said both are fine for winter driving, as long as you know which ones you have.

4. Turn less

While it may look funny, use your entire lane to turn. Use everything from the curb to the middle of the road when making your turn, Goddard said. On a right turn, angle the car so it begins far left and takes the turn on the inside right. This keeps the car as straight as possible during the turn. “The less turning you have to do, the less trouble you’re going to have, the less likely you’re going to skid,” Goddard said.

5. Know how to take a skid

Keep the gas on. “I was always told that if you’re in trouble, get off the gas,” Goddard said. But in a skid, you don’t want to do that. “If you take your foot off the gas, the back end is going to pass the front,” he said, especially on ice. You need to steer into the skid, Goddard said. This means if the car’s rear flails right, steer right. If it slides left, steer left. Be ready afterwards to compensate by steering in the opposite direction to set the car straight. Goddard said what is helpful is looking toward the middle of the road, where you want to be. “Look where you want to go.”

6. Bring a shovel

If you’re caught in a snowbank, there’s not much you can do. “You’re either going to need a tow truck, or you’re going to need to dig your way out,” Goddard said. Rocking the car can sometimes help. “A little bit forward, a little bit back. Get a rhythm going,” he said. Levelling the snow gives the car grip and the rocking motion builds momentum, which can eventually get you out.

7. If you don’t have to drive, don’t

If the weather is bad and the driving is crummy, just stay home, Goddard said. “That’s rule No. 1.”

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